4.6 billion people were affected by internet censorship in 2025 – with Asia continuing to lead the way

Internet censorship impacted 4.6 billion people in 2025. 81 new restrictions were put in place – a 29% rise compared to 2024 – and Asia recorded the largest number of restrictions.

Data comes from research conducted by one of the best VPNs, Surfshark, via its Internet Shutdown Tracker. Surfshark has published the research and its methodology on its website.

Social media blocks accounted for one in four of the internet restrictions, and many turned to VPNs to bypass these cases of censorship.

Internet censorship is a growing and dangerous threat to our online privacy and digital rights. 2025 saw internet freedoms threatened by Western governments – examples including the UK's Online Safety Act, US age verification laws, and Australia's social media ban. Alongside this, we saw restrictions from traditionally more authoritarian governments related to protests, elections, and political turmoil.

We're only one month into 2026, but internet censorship shows no signs of slowing down. Privacy advocates must continue to oppose online censorship in all forms and fight for a free and open internet.

81 new restrictions

81 new restrictions were introduced in 2025, covering 21 countries. Countries in Asia accounted for a majority of restrictions. Governments of 10 countries imposed 56 new restrictions, affecting 2 billion people.

India was the most restrictive country. It recorded 24 new restrictions, up one from the 23 it imposed in 2024. Surfshark reported that 10 of these restrictions were related to protests and 14 were related to political turmoil.

We saw VPNs banned from the Indian app store, and the country's data laws mean almost all major VPNs don't host physical servers in the country. In the final days of 2025, Indian authorities imposed a 2-month VPN ban in the region of Kashmir and Jammu, citing a "surge in suspicious online activity."

Iraq and Afghanistan were the next-most restrictive countries, with nine and seven cases respectively. Turkey recorded two cases, with a huge VPN spike seen amid protests and social media crackdowns in March.

Pakistan made multiple attempts to ban VPN use in 2025. An all-out ban was avoided, but surprise VPN blocks hit users in January 2026.

Africa was the second-most restrictive continent, with 20 new cases of internet censorship imposed by 8 countries and 344 million people affected. Cameroon topped the list with five cases of internet restrictions.

Venezuela was the only South American country to carry out restrictions. It blocked Telegram in January, with VPN usage spiking as a result. VPNs were also targeted, as a reported 20 VPN apps had their sites blocked.

47 restrictions were already in place at the start of 2025. These included long-term social media bans in countries such as Oman, Iran, and China. All of these restrictions have been in place since 2009.

Why was the internet restricted?

51 out of the 81 restrictions were related to political turmoil, more than double the 23 recorded in 2024. Political turmoil was cited as the primary purpose of internet restrictions in 14 countries, with 2.1 billion people affected – these included India, Iraq, and Iran.

Four countries restricted the internet during elections – Cameroon, Tanzania, Guinea, and Venezuela. India, Panama, Kenya, Turkey, Togo, and Pakistan were the six countries who imposed restrictions in response to protests.

We have seen protests and elections cited as the reason for internet restrictions in 2026. Iran is still suffering a total internet blackout, 300 hours and counting at the time of writing. The shutdown came in response to nationwide anti-government protests. Uganda shut down the internet for five days between January 13-18, 2026, coinciding with the country's controversial and disputed presidential and parliamentary elections.

Regional shutdowns, where internet access is restricted in specific regions and cities, was the most common type of restriction. 38 restrictions took place at a regional level, 25 due to political turmoil and 13 due to protests.

Telegram was the most targeted social media app

Social media was targeted in 21 out of the 81 restrictions, an increase from 18 in 2024. Telegram was the most blocked social media app, facing restrictions from seven governments on nine occasions.

Telegram is one of the best encrypted messaging apps, and many use it to communicate with friends, family, and fellow activists when faced with internet censorship. As mentioned above, Telegram was blocked in Venezuela but also in Vietnam.

Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X, and WhatsApp were also targeted by government censors.

Comparison to previous years

2025 saw the highest number of internet restrictions, both new and ongoing, since 2021. The number of countries with new restrictions increased to 21, up from the 17 seen in 2024.

How can VPNs help combat internet censorship?

VPNs are a vital tool for bypassing internet censorship. In most cases, connecting to a VPN server in a country not partaking in blocks will see you able to access any restricted apps or websites. This is why we have observed numerous VPN spikes in recent years.

Almost all leading VPNs offer VPN obfuscation. This is where your VPN traffic is disguised as regular internet traffic and it's effective at bypassing blocks and evading government monitoring. NordVPN's NordWhisper, Norton VPN's Mimic, and Proton VPN's Stealth are all examples of proprietary, obfuscating protocols. ExpressVPN's Lightway is also obfuscated by default.

Proton VPN has a host of dedicated anti-censorship features, including Stealth, Guest Mode, Secure Core, and Proton VPN Free. The free version of its VPN, combined with a large presence in Asia and Africa, means Proton often sees a spike in usage when governments commit acts of internet censorship.

Where VPNs can't help is in the case of a total internet shutdown. VPNs need internet connectivity to connect to servers and provide IP addresses. If the internet is switched off completely, like we are seeing in Iran, then VPNs are powerless to help.

This is why digital privacy activists must continue to pressure governments, work together, and fight for internet freedoms and the goal of making internet censorship a thing of the past.

As we enter 2026, internet restrictions are already coming thick and fast. Pakistan, Iran, and Uganda have all seen significant cases of internet censorship. We will continue to monitor cases as the year progresses and advocate for a free and open internet.